Iraqi oil export pipeline ablaze after blast

An Iraqi oil pipeline was ablaze today after a bomb blast that stopped the flow to a key export terminal in Turkey.

The explosion cut Iraq’s export capacity by 400,000 barrels a day.

The explosion damaged parts of a twin-pipeline running from Iraqi oil fields near the northern city of Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a Turkish official said.

The oil pipeline recently has been shipping 400,000 barrels a day out of Iraq’s total exports, which have recently averaged 1.65 million barrels per day.

The head of Iraq’s North Oil Company, Adel Kazaz, confirmed that insurgents blew up part of the pipeline on Monday and said it was still on fire today.

A source at Ceyhan said the blast damage “looks serious and repairs could take some time.”